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Important information regarding the sale of Integro USA.

Integro Holdings Inc., which held substantially all of the U.S. operations of Integro Insurance Brokers, has been sold to EPIC Insurance Brokers & Consultants. The addition of Integro USA significantly expands EPIC’s already substantial resources and service offerings. Click here to read more about the acquisition.

Integro’s UK business segments including Entertainment & Sport, Corporate and Private Clients, and Wholesale are not part of the sale to EPIC. Please click the following links for information on those segments: Entertainment & Sport, Corporate & Private Client, or Wholesale (trading under the Tysers brand).

Artificial intelligence has great potential, but also risks. Integro’s Kelly Geary talked about how the industry can help mitigate those risks with Mercedes Ott for Risk & Insurance magazine. Among the risks that Geary identified was the shift she sees in risk moving from the financial to personal realm. “AI can now threaten people personally,” she said. “Lives, health and health care are at risk. People with medical devices such as pacemakers could be affected. Criminals can control heating and cooling systems in a hospital ICU. The more connected we become, the more at risk we are.”

Last year set records for catastrophes. Hurricanes Irma and Harvey, along with California wildfires, hit communities across America hard during the last quarter of 2017. Globally, natural disaster-related losses totaled $330 billion. Michelle Kerr reported for Risk & Insurance magazine that 60 percent of that loss was uninsured, which makes the protection gap concerning. Kerr interviewed Integro colleague Michael Korn about the issue, quoting him throughout the piece on the industry’s ability to offer more than just risk transfer as well as on the decision by some homeowners in high risk areas to forego coverage because of its high price tag. “It’s incredibly expensive,” said Korn. “The deductibles are very high, and I think most people figure, if something that big happens, either I’ll walk away from my house and let the bank have it, or I’ll take out a loan.” Decisions like that add to the growing protection gap.

Larry Reback Discusses the Role Social Media and Scandal Play on Reputation-Related Claims

Sadly, scandals fill news headlines far too often these days. Companies’ reputations are at greater risk of failing fast in the high exposure world of social media and the 24-hour news cycle. It’s not just scandals though that are on the rise; the value of reputation-related claims are too, as Autumn Heisler reported for Risk & Insurance magazine in her article on the topic. Heisler interviewed Integro colleague Larry Reback about the issue, who she quoted as saying, “Because of #MeToo and the gymnastics scandals, there is a concern that employment claim values could go up.” Further, Reback cited Chipotle as an example of the idea that underwriters need to model losses to underwrite risks.